Faith Baptist Church has had some exciting and literally groundbreaking news happen since our last update. After years of planning, preparing, and praying, we were able to start our next huge building project! Imani Building B is now under construction. This new indoor building will be the home for Kellie’s nursery, a kitchen for the Tanzanian ladies, two pastoral offices, a Sunday class for the Waswahili children, and a teen class for the two youth groups: English and Swahili. We are all anxiously awaiting and looking forward to its completion sometime next year!
For Valentine’s Day, we held a Marriage Seminar. There were 18 couples in attendance. Sadly, my spouse could not attend, as Landon was not feeling well that day, so it was more like 17.5 couples were present. I planned the games, a message was given by Pastor Wyatt, and the couples had a great time being together.
We have witnessed many come to believe in Christ since our return. Kellie started a new Sunday school curriculum, and she’s encouraged, as her students are understanding what Jesus has done for them. Her students range in age from one to six. Even Landon is talking about Jesus at home. He has been saying, “I love Jesus, Jesus hasn’t taken away my sin yet, and I want to help Jesus fight the Devil,” along with a few other statements. We love seeing his faith start to develop. We believe that he will fully understand Who Jesus is and what He did within the next couple of years.
Speaking of our son, he turned four at the end of March! He has really been in to superheroes lately, so it was only fitting that his birthday was Spider-Man themed. We invited seven of his friends, and they all had a blast at his party. Thank you to everyone who emailed and sent cards to wish our son a Happy Birthday!
We welcomed a group from Des Moines, Iowa, the week before Easter. This was our first time being “in charge” of meeting them at the airport in Dar es Salaam and accompanying them to their rooms in Morogoro. My best friend and his wife, Greg and Megan, came for their first visit. I loved having them here. We enjoyed being able to work alongside each other in the ministry again. Greg, Megan, and I all attended and served together at my late grandpa’s church in Marion, Iowa.
The weekend before Easter, we held our Third Annual Bilingual Teen Camp. There were over 60 teens present. All of the games, crafts, and activities are held together. The preaching is divided up by language: Swahili and English. It was a very tiring, but very rewarding weekend. We ended camp after the English service on Easter.
We hold two English services a year: one at Easter and the other at Christmas. While there are three classes for the kids and teenagers who speak English, we do not have an adult service in English. There were over 130 English speakers present for our Easter service, which started with breakfast. All of the classes sang a song, had an age-appropriate Easter lesson, and then had fun gathering Easter eggs at the end of the service.
Everything we do in this ministry is driven by one thing: our love and faith in Jesus Christ. We are trying to reach as many people as we can with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are thankful that we can present that message in our native language and in our foreign language. The best thing about the Gospel is that it’s for all people, all languages, and all nations.
Your missionaries to Tanzania,
Montana, Kellie, and Landon Morrow